Jack White Remembers ‘Brilliant’ Loretta Lynn: ‘I Learned So Much From Her’

4 October, 2022

Country music legend Loretta Lynn died at age 90 on Tuesday (Oct. 4), and her musical collaborator Jack White was one of the many stars who took to social media to honor the beloved vocalist.

“What a sad day today is. We lost one of the greats, Loretta Lynn. I said when I was first asked about her, what I thought, and I said years ago that I thought she was the greatest female singer-songwriter of the 20th century,” White, who was Lynn’s producer and collaborator on her 2004 album, Van Lear Rose, said in a video shared to his Instagram page. “I still believe that. Loretta used to say to make it in the business, you had to either be great, different, or first, and she thought that she was just different and that’s how she made it, but I think she was all three of those things and there’s plenty of evidence to back that up too.”

He continued, “I learned so much from her working together on this album Van Lear Rose and there was times where I just had to take a pause and step outside because she was just so brilliant, I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing and hearing. I almost felt like she didn’t even realize it, you know. But she was just a genius and just brilliant at what she did and we were lucky to have her and people can learn from example the rags to riches part of it and the beautiful natural voice part of it.”

White concluded by noting that the legend was like a “mother figure” and “very good friend” to him. “She told me some amazing things that I’ll never tell anybody. Rest in peace Loretta. God bless you,” he said.

According to a statement from her family, Lynn passed away in her sleep at her home in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. “Our precious mom, Loretta Lynn, passed away peacefully this morning, October 4th, in her sleep at home at her beloved ranch in Hurricane Mills,” the family said in a statement, adding that an announcement about a public memorial is forthcoming.

See Jack White’s tribute below.